The derailleur clicks like it should, but the hanger doesn't move at all. The cable feels loose compared to the back one. It started acting up when winter started and the bike got wet, I would have to kick it with my heel to drop down to the little ring. I got a flat that I didn't fix for a month or 2 and the problem got worse. Ive tried for several hours and watched multiple videos trying to fix the derailleur and have given up. I don't want to take the bike to the shop yet because there are a bunch of little problems with it and I don't want to ask for free labor, and I was gifted another road bike that I intend on using when the weather gets better.

In the interim I would appreciate not wearing my components together in "weird" configurations that render them unusable (chains skips) under normal conditions. Im guessing that keeping it in the bad position but keeping it somewhat consistent is better than forcing the bike to use the full range with the big gear, but don't have much experience with this.